Mathematical Skies
by bootsma
Summary: After Fionna gets officially shut down by Prince Gumball, she ends up slumping around the house all day and moaning to Cake about her pathetic love life. However, A surprise visit from the Vampire King helps to turn her night around.
1. Mathematical Skies

Fionna slumped in a disappointing fashion against the wall.

"Caaake. Dude, what the melon is wrong with me? Seriously. I have relationship poo-brain." Fionna moaned again,  
>sliding further down the wall until she was laying on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling.<p>

"Naah, girl, don't be telling' yourself that. Prince Gumball is the one with poo-brain." Cake assured her, curling up beside  
>the disgruntled teenager.<p>

"Yeah… " Fionna said slowly, "I guess your right. But still! I made myself look like such a tool!"

Laughing, Cake responded "Yeah you kind of did!" Then, realizing the seriousness of the matter,  
>she corrected herself. "Uh, I mean nope. You looked totally awesome!"<p>

Fionna slowly turned and looked at Cake. She wasn't impressed.

"Cake. I don't think it's remotely possible to look "totally awesome"  
>when you're running into the woods crying. I was lame as dirt balls. Besides, you weren't even there!"<br>She was referring what had happened earlier that day, the results of which hadn't exactly gone as planned. At all.

Simply put, Prince Gumball had called Fionna up to his castle, claiming he had something important to tell her.  
>Fionna, of course, was ecstatic. This was it! Finally Prince Gumball was going to reveal his secret love for her!<br>Unfortunately for Fionna, however, events didn't exactly live up to her expectations. In the end, Fionna was left  
>having embarrassed herself in front of her now ex-crush.<p>

Once she had arrived at the castle, he told her all he needed her to do was deliver some cupcakes to the hotdog prince.

She nervously stuttered out, "Y-you… You mean.. you d-didn't… you didn't want to tell me that you l-like me..?"

The prince casually responded, "Oh, Fionna! We both know how ridiculous that would be! Me liking you?"  
>He laughed, "Let's be serious, we're just pals! That's all we'll ever be!" He said all this in a reather pleasant tone,<br>and then, seemingly oblivious to Fionna's already streaming eyes, he turned and walked away. Fionna on the other hand,  
>was already sprinting out of the castle. Adventurers weren't supposed to cry! Adventurers were supposed to... adventure,<br>and do awesome things, and… and… and not get rejected, or shut down, or whatever it was that had just happened.

"… Bleh." Fionna picked herself up off the floor, and walked to the fridge. She was in need of some serious snack food.  
>She opened the door, and pulled out some leftover 'whatever's in the refrigerator taco's that her and Cake had made the night before.<p>

"Shmwowzers! I completes forgot we made these!" She exclaimed in a sudden outburst of excitement.

"Made what?" A smooth voice asked from the head floating over her shoulder.

"AHG!" She fell over in surprise, and demanded the person floating over her,  
>"What the brick are you doing here?"<p>

"Oh, you know, just checking up on my favourite human." Marshall Lee the vampire winked at her,  
>and held out his hand to help her up.<p>

"I didn't need help, thanks." Was Fionna's attempted cold response, but she let him help her up,  
>and was blushing like mad anyways.<p>

"You just wanted to hold my hand then, right?" He allowed himself a small smirk.

Her cheeks were glowing redder than ever as Marshal added "Your cheeks look delicious,  
>you're lucky I'm on a strict no-blood diet" He winked again.<p>

Fionna, getting a hold of herself, retorted "Shut up, Marshall!" Giving him a playful shove as she stuck out her tongue at him.

He laughed, swept Fionna onto his shoulders in a rather playful manner, and promptly floated out the window with her,  
>all the while ignoring her protests. Once she looked up, however, she seemed to change her mind.<p>

"Wowzers! Marshall! This is totally algebraic!" The sky above them was filled with millions of tiny stars,  
>sparkling different colours like there was a florescent rainbow hiding behind a black sheet in the sky. It was brilliant, beautiful,<br>and according to Fionna, pretty freaking awesome.

Marshall was now holding Fionna in his arms, but she didn't appear to notice, and it didn't seem like he did either.  
>They were both staring in awe at the view overhead.<p>

"This is actually…pretty amazing." Marshall said softly. Fionna, not sure if he was talking about the sky, her being in his arms,  
>or possibly a combination, just nodded in agreement. It was definitely cool. It might have even been considered romantic,<br>if not for Fionna suddenly deciding to flip out of Marshall's arms and down to the ground. She was blushing again.  
>Marshall gave her a small sly smile as he floated down to join her. They lay looking up at the vibrant sky,<br>and Fionna, having forgotten all about Prince Gumball (for now, at least), was in the best mood she had been in since her and  
>Cake had found out the Ice Queen was afraid of dancing bugs and had proceeded to torture her with them for a week.<p>

Marshall turned and looked at her. He had a weird look on his face... Fionna nervously returned his gaze.

"what are you looking at..?" she asked, thrown slightly off guard by his content stare.

"I was just thinking…" He replied, his small smirk returning.

"About?" She hesitantly asked him, not sure if she wanted an answer or not.

"Your face looks pretty delicious even when you're not blushing" Marshall said laughing, as he got punched in the leg by a  
>once again furiously blushing Fionna.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>First ever fan fiction. Yes, there will be more (unless something tragic andor unexpected happens, that is), so stick around and stuff. Oh, and if you don't mind, please review. ^-^**


	2. Unusual Behaviour

A few weeks had passed since that rather unusual but not at all unpleasant night. Marshall had started making  
>frequent visits to see Fionna, which of course, were always very chill, and never anything serious, just two friends,<br>hanging out. Nothing unusual about that at all.

At least, that's what Fionna told herself.

"YO, CAKE!"

… Cake, after being woken up in rather loud manner, fell ungraciously off the ceiling fan she had been sleeping on,  
>and onto Fionna's lap.<p>

"Fionna! What the lump, man! I was still sleeeeepin'." Cake grumbled as she picked herself up and lazily stretched  
>into a pretzel.<p>

"I know. Sorry," Fionna apologized, and continued, "Buuuuut I wanted to talk to you about the  
>Celebration of Science ball that Prince Gumball is having next week! Normally I'd be dying to go with the Prince,<br>but now… I don't think I want to. Apparently he's going with the Prune Princess or something anyways.  
>Do you know if you're even allowed to go without a date?"<p>

"Girl, no offence, but when have you _ever_ gone to one of his dances with a date?" Cake questioned, rolling around on the bed.

"Huh. I guess that's true. I don't know who I'd go with anyways." Fionna sighed in a melodramatic teenage fashion.

"Why don't you ask your vampire friend?" Cake asked slyly, pouncing on Fionna's feet as she talked to avoid Fionna's  
>attempted punch, only to get stabbed in the belly by her toe.<p>

"Shut up! No, I'm not going to ask someone to go with me! Besides, If he wanted to go, he would have asked me already.  
>I doubt he's even gonna go at all," Fionna replied defensively, crawling out of bed.<p>

"Yeah, yeah, whatevs, lets break fast and get breakfast."

The two groggily made their way downstairs to the kitchen, talking about possible solutions for their morning hunger.

"I think we should make waffles."

"Pfft, your waffles taste like dumb."

"What? You taste like dumb!"

"What does dumb even taste like..?

"How am I supposed to know! You're the one tha-"

"…Well hello, ladies." A sleek voice cut into their apparently engaging conversation. Marshall Lee had entered the building.

Fionna, not missing a beat. gave him a wave and tossed a ripe apple at him. "What's up, oh revered Vampire King?"

He winked at her, and took the apple, sucking the colour out of it before replying,

"Not too much, oh esteemed Human. Just thought I'd see if you wanted to chill later today."

That was odd. Usually he would just show up and took her out somewhere, or they would hang out and played BMO  
>or something. In fact, Fionna couldn't remember him ever actually making plans with her to do anything, but she didn't think much of it.<p>

"Of course, sounds like a party!" Fionna happily agreed.

"Alright, see you later then." Marshall winked at her as he left. He seemed to do that a lot (wink, that is).

Arriving home after a day full of rescuing princes (You would think grown men would be able to protect themselves),  
>Fionna and Cake walked into their tree house to find Marshall lounging about inside.<p>

"Heya, Fionna," He said casually and nodded a greeting to Cake. "You ready to go?"

"Oh! Yeah, I suppose. Where the lemon are we going, anyways?" She asked, walking out the door with him close behind.

"Well, uh, I just though maybe we could go to my place and grab something to eat or whatever you people do, then go for a walk."

Usually, Marshall sounded smooth, confident, and totally in control. Of course, he was still acting like Marshall,  
>but Fionna thought he sounded almost… nervous? Something had to be bothering him, but she didn't bring it up.<p>

"Sounds like a rad-radish time!" she replied instead, and they made their way down to Marshalls place,  
>joking about what Prince Gumball would do if Marshall were to suck the colour out of his red candy people.<p>

Soon they had arrived at his house, and Marshal brought out some snacks, most of which were red,  
>but Fionna didn't mind. She was used to it by now, and besides, red things had a tendency to be particularly delicious.<p>

"So, Fionna, did you hear about Prince dumb-ball's science dance thing?" Marshall asked in an attempted impassive fashion,  
>eyeing up a stray strawberry. Fionna, however, detected that nervous tone in his voice again.<p>

"Who hasn't? You gonna go?" Fionna munched on some grapes and looked casually out the window.

"That depends." Marshall caught Fionna's eye and held her attention.

He was always doing that. Whenever he wanted to say anything serious, he would just look at her face  
>until she was forced to look him in the eyes. Although she had to admit, he did have rather nice eyes.<br>He had the kind of eyes you could just stare into for hours... Fionna blushed, embarrassed at the thought,  
>and dragged herself back to reality.<p>

"Um… depends on what?" She asked quietly, still returning his serene gaze.

A small pause, then after a moment a soft voice answered, "If you'll go with me."  
>A moment later, with a tad more confidence, a subtle smile and a wink he added, "Like… as my date or whatever."<p> 


	3. Midnight Scenery

Fionna sat in stunned silence for what seemed like forever. Things had gotten a tad serious.  
>Suddenly, there was a million things running through her mind. Of course, she was elated at<br>the thought that she had pretty much just been asked on a date for the first time in her life,  
>but she was also confused. Why would Marshall ask her? And why to Prince Gumball's dance?<p>

Clearing her mind, she looked timidly back into Marshall's eyes, blushing in the usual Fionna fashion.  
>He gave her a lopsided smile, and shrugged as if to ask 'what do you think?'.<p>

"I.. I'd love to go, actually." she replied with a shy smile, then looked down at the table bashfully.  
>Marshall smiled wider than was usual for him, and stood up.<p>

"Sweet! I was hoping you'd agree." He smiled again, and added, "I'm glad you're going to come with me."

Fionna go up as well, smiled back, and with a bit more courage replied, "Good! I'm glad as well, I suppose."  
>She winked at him boldly and laughed. So did Marshall.<p>

Marshall led Fionna outside, and soon they were walking in the woods outside on a path just wide enough for the two of them.  
>The psychedelic stars they had seen before were peeking through the trees above,<br>sparkling down on them as they made their way through the forest.

"where the math are we going, anyways?" She asked Marshall. They had been walking for a while at this point,  
>and Fionna had no clue where they could be going. Surprisingly, she had never been adventuring in these particular woods before.<p>

"Just wait, we're almost there," He answered. Fiona thought she had spotted a clearing up ahead,  
>and quickened her pace. That is, she tried to. Instead, she was grabbed from behind by Marshall,<br>who proceeded to blindfold her with his hands. "Wait! I want this to be a surprise," He told her,  
>slowly leading her forward while careful not to let her trip.<p>

After about a minute or so, hey stopped moving. Marshall took his hands away from Fionna's eyes,  
>revealing the beauty of the night. They were standing at the edge of a meadow that dropped off into a cliff not far in front of them.<br>That was nice enough on its own, but this particular cliff was overlooking nearly the entire span of Aaa!  
>The Ice and Candy Kingdoms could be seen in the distance, as well as the fire and Cloud Kingdoms.<br>Even Lumpy Space could be seen in the distant sky. Fionna spotted the ocean along an edge of the continent,  
>and proceeded to shudder at the thought. However, even the horrendous ocean couldn't keep her mind off the beauty she was beholding.<br>The stars above still sparkled like miniature rainbows, guardians over the land of Aaa, keeping a watchful eye over it's inhabitants.  
>It was insanely cool.<p>

"What do you think?" Marshall gave her a signature sly smile, and sat down on the edge of the cliff.

"Marshall, I can't even…" Fionna, for the first time in her life, was at a loss for words.

"I know. It's amazing.." Marshall surveyed the continent. "I remember when I found this place.  
>I've pretty much watched Aah become what it is today, sitting right here… I've never taken anyone else<br>to this place before, you know." There was a softness in his voice that Fionna didn't often hear.  
>It was almost like he was opening up or something. It was strange, but in the same way… kind of nice.<p>

"Well… thank you. I mean, it's totally beautiful! I've never seen anything like this." She glanced at him,  
>a small smile complimenting her face. He looked so serene, sitting there, staring out over Aah,<br>his eyes reflecting the millions of stars speckling the skies above. She had the inexplicable and unexpected urge to kiss him,  
>but she couldn't. Not here, not now, and sheesh, probably not ever. Besides, she told herself,<br>she didn't know if he even liked her. And another problem, how exactly was she supposed to kiss someone?  
>She'd never kissed anyone in her entire life!<p>

Marshall stood up, took a last glance over the edge of the cliff, and held out his hand to Fionna.  
>"I guess we should probably get going.." he said with a hint of sadness in his voice.<p>

"Yeah… I guess so," Fionna said softly, but they both just stood facing each other, Fionna gazing into those gorgeous black eyes,  
>still sparkling from the light of the stars. She blushed again, but only lightly, and chances were Marshall couldn't tell anyways.<p>

Marshall looked back into her eyes. "Fionna…" He started to say something, but changed his mind halfway through.  
>He took a step closer to her, and suddenly his lips were on hers, his hands around her waist.<br>He held her close, kissing her for a moment, before reluctantly letting go and stepping away again.

For the first time in his life, Marshall Lee was blushing. Fionna didn't even know vampires _could_ blush.

"I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, "I don't know why I-" he started to say, then looked away, embarrassed.

"Marshall, don't be…" Fionna said, then stopped, shyly reaching up and kissing his cheek before whispering,  
>"Don't. It was absolutely perfect." She meant it, too. It was like the entire world had just melted away when he kissed her,<br>it was the most amazing feeling… like nothing she had ever experienced before.

She hugged him, and he picked her up gently, carrying her in his arms like in those cheesy movies they watched sometimes.  
>She laid her head against his chest, and he carried her home, nestled in his arms.<p>

Just then, Fionna couldn't think of anywhere she'd rather be .


	4. Rejection?

A few days before Prince Gumballs Science celebration dance was set to take place, Fionna was called up to the Candy Kingdom. Fionna hadn't seen the Prince for a while, but there wasn't anything unusual about her being summoned, it was probably just some monster terrorizing some poor innocent villagers or something like that, the typical hero-esque jobs usually assigned.

When Fionna arrived to the candy castle, she was greeted by peppermint maid, and made her way up to the tower room, where Prince Gumball was apparently waiting to inform her of her duties or something like that.

"Heya, Fionna!" She was greeted in the usual nice-guy fashion upon her arrival.

"Hullo, Prince Gumball! How can I be of service?" She replied, expecting to receive some sort of job or awesome action-packed quest to complete.

"Well…" he said mischievously, "If you really want to be of service, you'll be my **date** for the Ball I'm hosting this week!"

Huh. That was mildly unexpected. A few weeks ago, Fionna would have been in heaven! Prince Gumball asking her to go to the dance? As his _date_? Heck yes! There was no way she would have said no! But now… Well, now she didn't even want to go with him at all! I mean, she wasn't completely against the idea, he was still an alright guy, but she was already going to go with Marshall, and there was no possibility of her cancelling that, especially after that night at the lookout point…

"Uh, actually, I kind of can't" She blurted out, still in shock. "I mean, I'd love to and all, sure, but uh.. Yeah. I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't? Of course you can! It's MY ball, I think you should come with me, so you're going to. Problem solved. Besides, you can always do whatever it was you were planning on doing another time." He said promptly, apparently impressed by his reasoning skills. He hadn't even considered that Fionna had already been asked to the dance. I mean honestly, it's Fionna. Who would ask _her_?

"Not really!" Fionna half-shouted, catching Prince Gumball off guard. "As a matter of fact, I _am_ going to your silly Science Celebration Dance, but I'm not going with you! Marshall already asked me, thank-you-very-much!"

Prince Gumball looked rather taken aback by Fionna's sudden outburst, and as did she, eyes wide open and nearly out of breath from her verbal attack.

"Are… are you really?" He asked, rather timid. Though, considering it was Prince gumball, that wasn't altogether that remarkable.

"Yeah. I am. Sorry." She wasn't really sorry at all, but he was the Prince and after all, it was also his ball she was going to in the first place. Best to keep on the safe side. "What's so weird about that anyways?"

"Oh sugar! For a minute there I thought you were going as his date, not just pals. I got confused!" He laughed, apparently relieved.

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but we're not just going as pals." She stated matter-of-factly. What the shmau was up with people always assuming she'd never like anyone? Or maybe they just thought nobody would ever like her? Insulting as that thought was, she shook it off. Besides, she had proved them wrong, they could go suck a soggy pickle for all she cared.

That said, Fionna turned and walked out of the room. She found Cake not long after, chatting with Ms. Cupcake.

"Hay girl haaaay!" Cake greeted Fionna, rubbing against her leg. "Whatwassat all about?"

"He wanted me to go to the dance with him as his _date_!" Fionna answered, with the smallest hint of disgust in her voice.

"Are you going to?" Cake questioned, wide-eyed. This had been the topic of none too few late night-boy talks about the Prince.

"UH, no! First of all, he's sort of rude. And he dresses in pink! Sheesh, I pretty much look like more of a man than him,"

"…Except you've got beewbs." Cake cut in, attempting (without success) to hold back her laughter.

Fionna blushed madly. "Shut up!" She said, before continuing. "And second of all, I already have a date, who, to be honest, I'd much rather be going with."

"I really hope you're talking about me, and not some pink squishy dude," A new voice cut in, and Fionna spun around in surprise.

"Marshall! Hah.. Yes I was talking about you." She blushed again, even more furiously than before and looked away.

"Good," he said, his eyes lighting up. "For goodness sakes, woman, can you please try not to be so damn adorable? You're killing me here."

She blushed again and laughed as he picked her up. "Also, you should know that's actually quite an achievement, seeing as I'm technically already dead!"  
>He added, laughing.<p>

Fionna giggled, then asked a tad more seriously why he had come to the Candy Kingdom.

"I heard you came here, and I was worried you had forgotten about our movie night, until I remembered I hadn't told you yet.  
>So here I am, whisking you away, It's all rather romantic, in a sort of random, smallish sort of way."<p>

Fionna giggled. It was pretty romantic… In her opinion, anyway.

"So…" Fionna asked with a smile, "What movie are we gonna watch anyways?"

"Meh," Marshall responded nonchalantly, "I don't really care, I'm just glad you're coming." He said with a wink, carrying her outside

where they disappeared into the darkness.


	5. A Curious Quest

Fionna was elated. The night of the Ball had finally arrived! Prince Gumball had yet to find a date (serves him right), and new people were arriving from all over the land of Aaa for the big event.

The fact that she still had nothing to wear wasn't slowing her down either. For cheese's sake, she could wear whatever she wanted to, and nobody was going to tell her off. She certainly knew Marshall wouldn't.

That got her thinking as well. Would Marshall even dress up? She couldn't really imagine him wearing anything too fancy, but you never know. He wasn't exactly a predictable person either way. But still… maybe she _should_ get a new dress..

"Hmm. Cake! Let's go on a girly adventure!" She said suddenly, jumping up.

"Uhh.. Are you feeling alright Fionna?" Cake asked, somewhat concerned/confused.

"Totes! I am SO alright!" She laughed, continuing "I wanna go on an adventure to find something to wear. Something totally mathematical!"

"Sounds good to me," Cake said smiling, "Anything in mind?"

"Not at all!" Fionna answered. "That's the adventurous part. We need to get something that's super awesome but not too fancy, and it can't be too girly, or not girly enough, or too sparkly or have too much stuff on it, or.." She trailed off, looking dazed.

"Something AWESOME!" Cake yelled in a voice suitable for WWE.

"Eeegggg-sactly!" Fionna exclaimed, running out the door in a triumphant fashion with Cake close behind in their typical 'We're Having an Adventure' ritual.

"Laadies, ladies, calm down.." A mocking voice drifted out from the edge of the forest upon their arrival. Marshall stepped out, breaking his fake sneer and smiling unusually wide.

(Fionna secretly thought it was a _very_ nice smile, and that it suited him.)

"Hey!" Fionna shouted. "we're doing girl stuff, so don't bother us, kay!"

"OooOo, giiirl stuff" He mocked, but then he smiled again and winked. "Fine with me, just don't forget about tonight, Fionna darling!" He sang, sounding rather British in the process.

Fionna blushed, laughing, and promised she wouldn't.

"Good!" he said, sliding his hands around her waist in a quick hug before waltzing out the door.

"Well," Cake laughed. "_Somebody's_ in a good mood!"

"I'll say!" Fionna agreed, giggling as they walked outside on a quest to find something for her to wear.

They made their way through the forest, sampling several different materials and other possible dress options, but with no luck. No luck, that is, until they came to the top of a small hill in a clearing surrounded by little green flowers.

Mounting the hill, they arrived at a rock. A yellow rock! Cake scrambled up the boulder to get a better look at their surroundings, when she stopped rather suddenly.

"What's up, dude?" Fionna called, already climbing up the rock herself.

Perched at the top of the rock was a crocodile. This wasn't just any crocodile, either. He was classy! He had a _moustache_!

"Um, hello!" Cake said hesitantly, walking towards the moustached stranger.

He looked her up and down in a scrutinizing manner, then exhaled deeply in a mildly depressing manner. "Good day, how may I be of assistance?"

Cake looked back at Fionna, raising her cat-eyebrows. Fionna stepped up, and turned to face the crocodile.

"Well actually, I'm looking for a dress!" She explained, "Or… something I can make one out of. Do you have any idea where I might be able to-" But before she could finish, he was on his feet.

"I KNOW JUST THE THING!" He shouted, grabbing Fionna's hand and leaping off the boulder. Fionna screamed in surprise, but rather than crashing into the ground, they floated safely down. Weird.

He pranced towards the green flowers surrounding the hill, But before they had gotten very far at all, they had fallen into a hole. Fionna screamed again, and shut her eyes.

Upon opening them, she found that they were in a cavern. Filled with… fabric? What?

Cake jumped down into the room as well, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Where the soap are we?"

"In my tailoring shop, of course! Tailoring is my **passion**! " his eyes widened, and he stared dramatically at a wall. "…Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of customers," the animated crocodile explained.

"Well then you can help _me make a dress!" Fionna exclaimed, jumping in excitement._

"_Love, I'll do more than help you. Tell me what you'd like, and it shall be done!" _

"_Mathematical!" Fionna exclaimed with a grin, and sat down beside the croc._

_This was exactly what she needed. How the bowling ball they had come across a tailoring crocodile she had NO idea, but hey! She wasn't going to complain. _


	6. The Revealing

Unfortunately, the croc had ushered Fionna out of the tunnel quickly after she had sat down,  
>insisting nobody was allowed to watch him "work his magic" (Whatever that meant).<br>Now, a few hours later, he was nowhere to be seen. After a while of searching, they decided he simply must have ran off.  
>Disappointed, they made their way back to the tree house.<p>

"Well," Cake sighed, "That was effective."

"More like dumb!" Fionna said, "Now I have no dress at all! There's probably not time to make one either"

"Yeah… Unless there's something at home you can wear." Cake said

"Haha! Tablecloths HAVE been in style lately," Fionna laughed. "Imagine what Prince Gumball would do!"

This, of course, resulted in a giggling fit between the two of them, and before long they were back at home.

"You're didn't order anything weird from Candy Kingdom again, did you?" Fionna questioned,  
>examining a parcel that had been left in front of the door.<p>

"I don't think so! Open it!" Cake peered at the package with large eyes.

"What if its… eeevil?"

"Don't be a melon! We can deal with evil!" assured Cake, prodding it with a paw.

"Good point!" Fionna replied as she ripped away the package to reveal…

The most beautiful dress she had ever seen in her life. The two gasped collectively simply at the sight of it.  
>It was a shimmering pastel turquoise in colour, with accents of white and darker teal and small bluebells adorning the neckline.<br>The hem of the skirt was the perfect length, just barely brushing the floor, and the sleeves were two simple braids of ribbon.  
>It was <em>definitely<em> mathematical.

The only problem now was that the tailoring crocodile was nowhere to be seen.  
>How were they supposed to repay him for the masterpiece he created if they couldn't find him?<br>Just then, a small card fell from the fabric of the dress.

"_I hope this fits your requirements," _It read. _"I'm sorry I couldn't be there to give it to you myself,  
>but I had some business to attend to. Please don't worry about the cost, making it was payment enough,<br>I assure you! Best regards, Carolan K. Dile"_

"… Wow." Cake mumbled. "That sure was one crazy croc."

"Are you kidding me? This dress is GENIUS CRAZ-MAZING **PERFECT**!" Cake exclaimed.  
>"I cant believe he's just GIVING it to us! Totally algebraic!"<p>

"Good point, sista!" Cake laughed at Fionna's enthusiasm. "Now go put it on already!"

The dress looked even better on Fionna than it had on the hanger. Sweet!

"Shmwow-zow! That looks awesome!" Cake exclaimed "You should wear dresses more often!"

"Cake, I can't kick bad-dudes in a dress!" Fionna laughed.

"Heh, I guess that's true! Marshalls not gonna be able to take his eyes of you!" Cake said with a mock swoon.  
>"Not that he can anyways" she added with a giggle.<p>

"Oh, shut up!" Fionna scolded, but she laughed too. She hoped he would like the dress as much as she did!  
>After all, he was the main reason she had it made. That or course, and to show up whoever Prince Gumball was taking.<br>While was certainly glad she wasn't going to the ball with him, it would still be fun to make him jealous! Fionna cackled aloud.

"Uh.. Fionna? You okay?" Cake questioned, raising a whiskery eyebrow.

"What? OH! Yeah! I'm good! Don't worry about it!" She exclaimed as she was snapped out of her imagination and back to reality.  
>"Let's do this! How much time do we have till the ball?" she asked Cake.<p>

"Marshall's gonna pick you up in less than an hour," Cake replied. "Now take off your hat, I need to do something with your hair!"

"You sound way to excited about this!" Fionna laughed nervously. "Do I have to take off my hat?"

"Yes, of course you do, silly!" Cake giggled as she pulled off Fionna's toque, revealing her long, healthy hair.  
>"Trust me, I know what I'm doing here!"<p>

After over half an hour of more primping and preening than Fionna had ever experienced in her life,  
>Cake revealed her finished product. Fionna's long, blonde hair fell to her waist, with soft curls flowing and bouncing.<br>Fionna had to admit, Cake wasn't lying when she said she knew what she was doing. Her hair was fantastic!

"Well," Cake asked, "What do you think?"

"I.. I look.." Fionna faltered, blushing.

"Yeah, I did pretty great. You look algebraic! Also, Marshall's downstairs. Lord Monochromicorn

and I are going to Lumpy Space tonight to look at the stars and stuff, so I'll see you later! Don't have too much fun!"  
>The two hugged, then Cake stepped out the window and Fionna made her way quietly down the ladder.<p>

Marshall was looking out the window at the rising moon, looking gorgeous, as usual. He was wearing a black suit,  
>with a white shirt underneath and a teal tie that matched Fionna's dress perfectly. Fionna took in a deep breath.<br>"H… Hi, Marshall.." Fionna whispered. So much for the deep breath. She was so nervous she could hardly breathe as he turned to face her.

"W.. wow." he gasped, his mouth falling open as he laid eyes on her.

Fionna blushed and looked shyly at the floor as he admired her.

"You look… amazing." he said. "I mean like, really beautiful." He took a step towards her and took her hands in his  
>with a nervous smile, blushing.<p>

"Oh," Fionna gasped quietly. " Th-thanks. So do you." She looked him back in the eyes, with a small smile.  
>"Your suit is really nice." She added shyly.<p>

"Darling," Marshall said with slightly regained confidence, "You're gorgeous in general."

He pulled her closer to him and kissed her gently. The two stayed like that for a small while, kissing in the moonlight.

When they finally pulled apart, Marshall kept Fionna's hand in his as he lead her to the door.  
>"After you, my lady," he said, following her outside.<p>

"If you insist, sir." Fionna giggled, and pulled him through after her.

Laughing together, they began walking to the Candy Kingdom, hand in hand.

Neither of them could have been happier.


	7. The Dance of Science  Final Chapter

Even from far away, it was plain to see something was going on in the Candy Kingdom that night.  
>It was lit up like a beacon among the dusky landscape, and everyone was busy running around making last minute preparations;<br>fixing decorations, greeting guests, setting up snacks, the whole deal. This was going to be one heck of a party!

Marshall and Fiona walked hand in hand all the way to the Candy Kingdom,  
>just strolling along and talking beneath the stars that were just beginning to peek out of the sky.<br>Neither of them knew what the night could bring, but they both hoped it would be something good.

"I'm nervous. Are you nervous? maybe I shouldn't be nervous.." Fionna mumbled, as they approached the entrance to the Kingdom.  
>She glanced back in the direction of the tree house. She was nervous, but she wasn't exactly sure why.<br>No way she was going to miss this night though. Not a chance!

"Mmm, Don't be nervous. You look absolutely beautiful, love. Just wait until that Gumball lays his eyes on you!  
>Ohhh I can't wait to see the jealous look on his face.." Marshall laughed, a sparkle of excitement in his smiling eyes.<br>Fionna was beautiful all right, and she was all his. Gumball didn't know what he was missing out on yet, but he was about to.

They walked up the stairs leading to the castle's entrance, arm in arm. Just before going inside,  
>Marshall leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Lets do this, gorgeous." She giggled as the two of them,<br>glowing with happiness, walked through the doors to the ballroom.

Suddenly, the beauty of Science filled the air. Tables were full of beakered beverages and scrumptious looking pastries  
>resembling the elements. Streamers of Pi were strung across the ceiling, and flasks attached to the walls emitted soft<br>pastel pink light over the guests. It all looked positively algebraic. Fionna and Marshall looked around in amazement at the hall.  
>Then the crowd noticed them. It was safe to say the entire room was stunned. First of all, there was Fionna, in a dress of all things.<br>Then they noticed she was with the Vampire King, not to mention the both of them looking absolutely flawless.  
>A collective gasp was followed by several other "ooh's" "ahhh's" and a few wolf whistles from the rowdier two glanced at each other again,<br>blushing, then joined the festivities.

After a while of socializing, food, and science, the dancing began. Couples, groups and soloists filled the floor as music entranced the room.  
>Marshall took Fionna by the hand and lead her to the dance floor. "Shall we?" he asked, pulling her close.<p>

"Oh, we shall," She looked him the eyes and winked playfully.

And then they danced, letting the melody move them at will with the fast tempo of the song, turning and twirling around the room,  
>captivating the other guests with their perfectly timed duet. Others stopped their own dancing just to witness the two promenade over the floor.<br>Soon enough, the entire hall was watching them. They didn't even notice. As the song finally ended, Marshall gave her one final twirl and bent down to kiss her hand. They were greeted with a barrage of applause, along with more hoots and whistles. Looking around in shock, they laughed.

"Well, that was certainly fun!" Marshall glanced nervously around and laughed again.  
>"Did you notice everyone else stopped dancing to watch us?"<p>

"That was definitely so crazy awesome!" Fionna beamed at him. "Aaand no I most certainly did not, thank glob.  
>I probably would have messed up or something stupid!"<p>

Marshall was about to reply, when another song came on and both were instantly swept away by new partners.

After a few more songs passed, the music faded and Prince Gumball made his first appearance,  
>stepping onto the accurately named "Stage of Science".<p>

"Hello everyone! It is my pleasure to welcome you to this years Celebration of Science Ball.  
>I see you have all been enjoying your night, and I assure you, it's only just begun! More dancing,<br>snacks and science will soon be on it's way, but first, let me take the time to thank each and every one of you for showing up this evening!  
>Without you folk, this wouldn't be very fun at all now, would it? All alone in this big old room with snacks, dancing by myself.<br>No fun at all I say!" Fionna glanced over at Marshall and the both held back laughter. Prince Gumball was a weirdo sometimes,  
>she had to admit. "Anyways, thank you all again so very much, and don't forget about the special fireworks display at the end of the night!"<br>With that, the Prince walked off the stage and joined his guests as the music resumed.

After a few more hours of music, friends, and food, Fionna found herself once again with Marshall, dancing to a bit of a slower song this time.  
>He laid his hands on her waist as they stepped to the music and began to talk.<p>

"Had fun so far?" Fionna asked, glancing around the room. Everyone was having fun, it seemed. Silly question..

"Of course!" He laughed, winking. "Especially now that I'm dancing with the Belle of the ball."

Fionna could not get over his smirky little half smile he had on his face whenever he wanted to make her blush.  
>Of course, it worked. "I am not! You just want to make me blush."<p>

"Well, I suppose both are true... You do look lovely when you blush. You look lovely all the time, mind you."  
>He smiled at her, and she nervously looked at the ground again, dancing closer. He really thought it, too. In his eyes,<br>she was the Belle of the ball no matter where she was. That almost scared him the first time he thought about it,  
>until he realized just how amazing she truly was.<p>

"Excuse me," A voice cut through their thoughts and they looked up, surprised. It was Prince Gumball.  
>"Ah, hello Marshall, mind if I take Fionna for a dance?" Marshall looked at Fionna with an awkward shrug and reluctantly nodded,<br>backing away as Gumball took his place.

"Oh, hi Prince Gumball.." Fionna mumbled, clumsily taking his hand as they took up the dance where she and Marshall had left off.  
>It all felt very awkward, dancing with him. The way he held his hand on her back, and how he tried to guide her where to go.<br>It wasn't natural at all.

"Hello, Fionna! Don't you look marvelous this evening. Where did you get that dress?"

Fionna thought it was a strange thing to ask, but answered it anyways. "Thank you, and it was a gift from someone who was very nice."

"Ah, I thought perhaps you had plundered it from someone on one of those crazy adventures you're always off on."  
>He laughed unpleasantly, and Fionna stared at him.<p>

"Excuse me, but I don't plunder. And besides, what's it to you?"

"Oh, nothing, just making small talk!" He looked at her reassuringly. She didn't buy it, but let it go. For now, at least.  
>"I am curious though, why on earth did you come with him of all people? I thought you'd go for someone..." He paused,<br>as though searching for the right words. ".. Someone more like me!" He looked pleased with his result, and looked back at Fionna.

"What on earth would posses me to wanna come with someone like you?" She asked him. She no longer cared if he thought she was being rude.  
>He deserved it anyways.<p>

"Oh goodness! Well, I mean, you like me, don't you?" He asked, confused. "I mean, what do you even see in him?  
>A Vampire King? Hah! What good is that? At least I actually rule something." Fionna looked at him in disbelief, but he continued.<br>"Anyways, what do you think? Watch the fireworks with the real deal, or hang out with a clammy skinned looser? Your choice!"

Fionna pushed him away in disgust, seething."No, I do not like you! Not since I found out you're a jerk! What the lump, Gumball?  
>Marshall is ten times the man you'll ever be, and you've got a colder heart than any vampire.<br>It'll be a hot day in the Ice Kingdom before I watch ANYTHING with you." He opened his mouth as though to rebut,  
>but she turned and stormed away, leaving him gaping on the dance floor. Thankfully, nobody else seemed to have noticed their little dispute.<br>Nobody except Marshall, that is.

"Wow. That was something." He said, floating beside her.

"I..um.. yeah. I guess so." She stared awkwardly at her feet, until something grabbed her hand.

"Come on, I want to show you something." He led her outside, and she followed quietly.

After a little while, she found herself on a hillside with Marshall, facing the Candy Kingdom. The faint hum of the music was still barely audible in the background as they laid in the grass and found themselves again looking at the stars together. Marshall rolled over so he was facing her.

"I really do think you're beautiful, you know."

"And you're crazy for it" Fionna smiled at him. He was exactly what she needed.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, just looking at each other, and then the fireworks began.

They sat up as streams of light poured from the castle like nothing anyone had ever seen, exploding into millions of sparkling lights that danced around the sky. Colours filled the air as the display continued, wave after wave of magnificent light. They sat hand in hand in silence, Fionna's head rested on Marshall's shoulder. The had the best view in the Land of Aaa.

"Fionna?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I might love you."

"I think... I think I love you too."


End file.
